Washington Wizards point-guard Tomas Satoransky is excited to return to his European roots when his side play in the NBA 2019 UK match against New York Knicks.

Tomas Satoransky of the Washington Wizards shoots the ball against the New York Knicks during pre-season game (Pic: Ned Dishman)

The 26-year-old Prague native is a big fan of bringing the games to different countries as he feels it gives different continents a chance to watch the NBA live.

“I’m excited. I’ve already had a lot of requests for tickets to go to the game because it’s only like an hour away from Prague.

“I think it’s exciting to bring the NBA games to Europe and people are excited to see it.

“It’s already big, obviously. Globally. Not only in Europe but I think those events are helping so people see what real games look like and I think it’s very quickly sold out. “

Satoransky will come up against a few old team-mates in the match including Mario Hezonja, who he played with during his time at FC Barcelona, and Kristaps Porzingis at C.B. Sevilla.

“We played with each other for a year. I know him (Hezonja) very well, so it’s cool to have him on the opposite team.

“Someone who you know, who you play with, it’s always more exciting.

“I hope he’s going to have a good year after he signed as a free agent.

“I hope he’s going to have a good season because he’s very talented.”

He praised the 23-year-old Croatian and believes when he’s in-form he’s very hard to stop.

“He could be very streaky when he gets it going.

“When he’s hot he’s very tough to be stopped and I think grew in that area. He sometimes wasn’t too solid.

“He had a great game and then he didn’t. So now I think he’s more solid. Last season he had a good year. Hopefully he can continue to grow.”

The Czech Republic international also revealed Knicks players Kristaps Porzingis is one of his best friends from their time together at Sevilla.

“I hope he’s going to play. He’s one of my best friends so I’m always excited to play against New York.

“Unfortunately lately, we didn’t get a chance. He was always injured or resting.

“Hopefully he’ll be okay but I understand this injury is very sensitive, especially with this type of body and you don’t want to rush him into anything. So hopefully he will be play then.”

He also admitted he stays in contact with all his former FC Barcelona team-mates and tries to visit when possible.

“Just last year during the offseason I went there to see a playoff game.

“I have a special relationship with the fans and with the club, so I’ve been trying to stay in contact with my former teammates and I love European basketball so it’s easy for me to stay in contact.”

Tickets for the NBA London Game 2019 will go on general sale Friday, Oct. 19 at 9 a.m. BST at www.axs.com/nbalondon. Fans can register their details at NBA.com/London to gain early access to a limited number of tickets via a presale to be held on Wednesday, Oct. 17 at 9 a.m. BST.